Penalties

Violations of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended (EAA), 50 U.S.C. app. §§ 2401-2420 (2000), and the Export Administration Regulations, 15 C.F.R. Parts 730-774 (2007) (EAR) may be subject to both criminal and administrative penalties. When the EAA is in effect, criminal penalties can reach 20 years imprisonment and $1 million per violation. Administrative monetary penalties can reach $11,000 per violation, and $120,000 per violation in cases involving items controlled for national security reasons. When the EAA is in lapse, the criminal and administrative penalties are set forth in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

On October 16, 2007, President Bush signed into law the International Emergency Economic Powers (IEEPA) Enhancement Act, Public Law No. 110-96, amending IEEPA section 206. The Act enhances criminal and administrative penalties that can be imposed under IEEPA and also amends IEEPA to clarify that civil penalties may be assessed for certain unlawful acts. Criminal penalties can reach $1,000,000 and 20 years imprisonment per violation and the administrative penalties can reach the greater of $250,000 per violation or twice the amount of the transaction that is the basis of the violation. See Endnote below.

Violators may also be subject to denial of their export privileges. A denial of export privileges prohibits a person from participating in any way in any transaction subject to the EAR. Furthermore, it is unlawful for other businesses and individuals to participate in any way in an export transaction subject to the EAR with a denied person.

Endnote: On November 13, 2000, the EAA was reauthorized by Pub. L. No. 106-508 and it remained in effect through August 20, 2001. Since August 21, 2001, the EAA has been in lapse and the President, through Executive Order 13222 of August 17, 2001 (3 C.F.R. 2001 Comp. p. 783 (2002)), which has been extended by successive Presidential Notices, has continued the EAR under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. §§1701 - 1706 (2000)) (IEEPA).

Penalty Guidance:

Enforcement Cases:

On June 22, 2016, BIS published new Administrative Enforcement Guidelines. The new Guidelines promote greater transparency and predictability to the administrative enforcement process. They also more closely align the administrative enforcement policies and procedures of our Office of Export Enforcement with those of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, both of which administer the bulk of their programs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Administrative Case Review Board

The ACRB is an internal BIS committee that advises the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at important stages of administrative cases and assists the Assistant Secretary and other Export Enforcement (EE) officials and attorneys in the Office of Chief Counsel for Industry and Security (OCC) to determine EE's positions related to the prosecution of administrative cases. A primary goal of the ACRB is to help promote administrative and legal best practices in EE enforcement policy and to ensure that all positions taken by EE in administrative enforcement cases are consistent, fair, and in line with overall BIS program and enforcement goals. See more information on the ACRB here.

Temporary Denial Orders:

Temporary Denial Orders are issued by the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, denying any or (typically) all of the export privileges of a company or individual to prevent an imminent or on-going export control violation. These orders are issued ex parte for a renewable 180-day period and cut off not only the right to export from the United States, but also the right to receive or participate in exports from the United States.

Section 11(h) Denials:

Section 11(h) of the Export Administration Act provides that, at the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce, no person convicted of a violation of the EAA, IEEPA, or Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (or any regulation, license, or order issued under any of these laws), or one of several espionage-related statutes will be eligible to apply for or use any export license issued under the EAA for up to ten years from the date of the conviction. In addition, Section 11(h) provides that the Secretary of Commerce may revoke any export license which the part had at the time of the conviction.